Apl.de.ap, of the Black Eyed Peas, has put together a benefit concert for Phillipines relief through his Apl.de.ap Foundation. The concert will feature performances by himself, will.i.am and Taboo. (The Associated Press)

Apl.de.ap vividly remembers the sights and smells of the devastation when Typhoon Haiyan ripped through the southern Philippines seven months ago. The Filipino American rapper mourned for the country, the place he called home until age 14 before he came to the United States and became a dual citizen.

“I actually got to visit the devastation three weeks later,” said apl.de.ap, whose real name is Allan Pineda Lindo. “I got to see firsthand how it was. People still digging, looking for their families, gathering scraps of wood to rebuild. You could still smell that odor. It was very unreal and really devastating.”

The Black Eyed Peas member plans to help his native homeland through Rebuild Philippines, a benefit concert Sunday at the Greek Theatre in Hollywood. The event was purposely planned to be this far removed from the tragedy after the initial media attention cooled off, he added.

“I knew it was going to go away really fast,” he said. “Now it’s just like because it’s not on the news it’s not going on anymore. There’s so much help needed. This (concert) is a reminder of that.”

Apl.de.ap’s charity foundation, titled the Apl.de.ap Foundation (ADAF), is behind the event while Philippine based SMART Communications is sponsoring it.

Along with Apl.de.ap (pronounced Apple Dee Ap), fellow Black Eyed Peas members will.i.am and Taboo as well as artists like Talib Kweli, Q-Bert, America’s Best Dance Crew alumni dance crew Jabbawockeez, Yardnoise with The Neptunes’ Chad Hugo, the Jazmin Sisters and more are expected to help raise awareness for the need in the Philippines.

Apl.de.ap said funds raised from the event will “be not about just rebuilding establishments, but people’s morale.”

“Kids are traumatized, there’s separation anxiety and teachers are scared to teach,” he said. “So we’re also doing a music and art technology program, a different way of teaching.”

Those who cannot attend the concert can also donate to the cause online by visiting to apldeapnews.com.

Additionally, the Apl.de.ap Foundation International and The Vision Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles announced on Thursday a partnership to stop blindness in newborns in the Philippines. Some of the proceeds from the benefit concert will also go toward the two-year “Campaign for Filipino Children,” said Ted Benito, executive director of the Apl.de.ap Foundation International.

“Since we have a lot of underground artists involved, I was thinking about bringing back some throwback music,” Apl.de.ap said.

Apl.de.ap has extended an invite to Fergie,but as of Thursday it was unclear whether she was going to join the Black Eyed Peas at the concert. The pop star has taken a break from performing with the Black Eyed Peas to enjoy motherhood since giving birth to her son, Axl, in August, apl.de.ap said.

But the Black Eyed Peas are far from disbanding. The group is are currently compiling songs for its next album, which has no release date. Apl.de.ap also has an album scheduled to come out this summmer somwhere between June and August.

“It’s a side project,” Apl.de.ap said of the soon-to-be-released album. “I went to get Will’s take on what he thinks and he said, ‘Oh, that should be for the Peas.’ And I’m like ‘Dammit, I got to make another one,’” he said, with a laugh.

But before any new music drops, he has Sunday’s benefit concert that he emphasized is “crucial.”

“I know it happened awhile back, but ... people are barely rebuilding,” he said.

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Wes covers culture and entertainment for the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, The Sun and the Redlands Daily Facts. Reach the author at wes.woods@langnews.com
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